Analysis. Bolsonaro slogans cast native Brazilians as foreign invaders. ‘Brazil for Brazilians.’ ‘The indigenous cannot hinder the development of Brazil.’ ‘We will not give up one inch of land.’

written by Francesco Bilotta

Topic Latin America

April 20, 2019

In Brazil, the “indigenous question“ has come roaring back, with all its force and sinister implications. The Bolsonaro government is putting forward measures that express its colonial vision on the Amazon region and the indigenous territories, in a stark echo of what happened during the period of military dictatorship.

Joênia Wapichana, the first indigenous woman elected to the Chamber of Deputies, has set up a new parliamentary group in the Brazilian Congress, the Joint Parliamentary Front to Defend the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Even in the most conservative and reactionary Parliament of the last 30 years, the indigenous deputy has succeeded in setting up this important joint initiative, with the objective of ensuring the institutional defense of the indigenous peoples of Brazil, who are being directly threatened by Bolsonaro’s policies.

A number of 219 deputies and 29 senators have joined the Front, coming from the parliamentary groups of the PT, PSOL, PC do Brasil, REDE, PSB and PDT. The joint parliamentary group will establish direct relations with representatives of the indigenous peoples, in an effort to counter the offensive being waged against them and to stop all initiatives that endanger the survival of the 300 Brazilian indigenous communities.

Nara Barè, who chairs the Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), which represents 180 traditional communities in nine states, was pleased with this new initiative.........